An Introductory Lesson
by sulli-ssi
Summary: Rukia Kuchiki, Momo Hinamori, Soi Fon Shihoin, Rangiku Matsumoto and Orihime Inoue. Five seemingly different girls who meet in college, who eventually form the worldwide sensation "Gotei 13". But how exactly did they meet? (A tie-in with the fic "The Learning Curve", Rated T for language and themes)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: This fic is based on my other fic, "The Learning Curve". Since I've been getting a sufficient-ish amount of reviews, I've also been more inclined to write this, which has been niggling at me for months. Ever since I touched on the subject of the Gotei 13's past, in fact. Which is what has led to this: a small, multi-chaptered fic which will probably not last more than five small chapters, that will describe the meetings and beginnings of the Gotei 13. Don't worry, I won't say anything beyond that, nor will I give away any spoilers/extra information that has not yet been included in the original fic which this is based from. So – enjoy, if you will, and review/comment/give feedback (please? Pretty please?). If there are any inconsistencies with the original story, you can tell me, and I'll take it into consideration (because I might have missed it, seeing as I'm writing this at 2 in the morning and it's freezing in my room but I'm too lazy to turn the heater on…damn Melbourne weather, I swear…). If you have not read "The Learning Curve", this might act as a stand-alone. But I just really recommend reading the original fic. Because of…reasons known only to me (*cough* subliminal advertisements *cough*).

AND NO. THIS ISN'T RUKIHIME OH MY GOD. If it was, I'd have made it "romance", which it isn't, and which I will never do ever okay. Sorry if I disappointed you, but. No. Before you read it, READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE FIRST. There _is_ a reason why I put it in front.

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**An Introductory Lesson**

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**Point 1: Connecting People and Burning Bridges**

"Some party, huh?"

Rukia nods absently, red plastic cup in hand. She rests her cheek on her palm, propped up by the elbow on some dinky couch of some sophomore who brightly suggested that she and Momo go to his party. Rukia had immediately wanted to say no, wanting to focus on that next essay (and, essentially, sucking up to the professor), but Momo (that bitch) dragged her here. She – being the resourceful person that she is – came up with _another_ excuse; that is, wanting to meet her roommate, who was supposed to arrive that night. Momo, however, was relentless.

In the end, Rukia threw patience out the window and agreed to go to some stinking party with drunken college kids for a few choice hours in exchange for Momo not dragging her to any other social gatherings for another month.

"You seem pretty down."

There that person goes again. Rukia grits her teeth and turns her head to – as gracefully as she can – tell the person to please, fuck off and leave her alone; the words die at the tip of her tongue. Not because the person is either a) indescribably hot that she would want to bang her, or b) she tended to lean that way in the whole sexuality spectrum anyway.

No, of course not. Rukia's not interested in girls in _that way_.

No, Rukia refrained from flipping off that person because that person looked as uncomfortable as she is right now.

Granted, that person doesn't look nearly as presentable as Rukia, with two short braids on an otherwise cropped hairstyle. Her bangs fall short above her eyebrows, which are honestly very slender, resting above onyx eyes. Her whole get-up screams anti-social (although Rukia doesn't really want to judge a person too much based on what they wear – that's Momo's thing), what with the shredded jeans that look like they've been through a blender and the equally torn shirt that's held together at the sides by _huge_ pins. If Rukia didn't know any better, she'd have said that this person shouldn't have survived getting run over by a lawn mower, judging by the state of her clothes.

"Okay, fine, I get it, you don't want to talk," the girl says, a slight accent to her tone, as if she'd been living overseas before. "Especially not with someone who looks like me, right?"

"Are you trying to pick me up?" she blurts out in a burst of utter embarrassment. Rukia doesn't want to seem like a snob to people, not on the first week of college. She wants to make friends (contrary to Momo's "popular" belief) and widen her horizons. Or just make connections for the future, in case Byakuya decides to disown her or some such horrendous thing like that. "I don't lean in that direction, sorry."

She gives a laugh, to indicate that she had been joking, and the girl laughs along after a singular beat.

"Sorry," she says again, shaking off her (bad) humour. She holds out her free hand. "The name's Rukia."

The girl shakes her hand with a grin. "Soi Fon." After withdrawing her hand, she takes a big swig from her own red cup and grins again. "And for the record, I don't swing that way, either."

"Well, that's alright then," Rukia agrees light-heartedly. Suddenly, the party doesn't seem to be so bad anymore, not with another lamenter such as herself; unlike Momo, this girl beside her doesn't seem to be on the look-out for distractions of the male kind. Seeking to strike up a conversation, Rukia asks the first question that comes to mind: "So, do you like music?"

To that, the girl's grin falters a little, before turning into a smirk. "Do I look like I like music?"

"Everybody likes music," she replies, before taking a delicate sip from her own cup. She laughs, then, before motioning with a finger at the whole party scene. "Although, not this kind of music."

Soi Fon laughs along with her. "Yeah, you got me there. Why are you interested?"

"Because," Rukia answers with a wolfish smirk of her own. "Everybody likes music."

Soi Fon gives an affirmative nod. She jerks her head to the side and grins. "Hey, you wanna get out of here?"

Rukia frowns a little. She's not big on trusting people, much less people she meets at parties, and even less when those people 'invite' her to go to some place that she doesn't know. Before she can open her mouth to politely decline – of course, she doesn't want to lose this new friend – Soi Fon smiles almost reassuringly at her. "I'm not taking you to a dingy club or a dark alley or whatever, if that's what you're thinking. It may seem kinda shady at first, but…it's a pretty good place to get music. Better music."

"Any music is better than this," Rukia says, standing up and placing her cup on the sofa. She tells the truth, because really, the incessant, irregular beats of the J-pop music blaring through the speakers already gave her a headache the moment she stepped into the threshold. She doesn't want to have a migraine in the morning, and she doesn't want a hangover either (because there had been, up until a few moments ago, a distinct possibility that she would overdose on the alcohol only because of the tacky, morphine-sounding vocalist blaring throughout the house, singing lyrics that don't make sense).

Soi Fon follows her example with a smirk. Leaving their half-full cups there might just make trouble for anyone else, and who are they to care?

They weave through the crowd. A part of Rukia wonders if she should tell Momo that she's leaving but, upon arrival outside the dorm house, she sees Momo walk towards the direction of _their_ apartment with a few girls. Rukia shrugs and follows Soi Fon, putting her hood up and stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets.

"For a chick who looked afraid of anything shady, you really do look like it right now," Soi Fon tells her, lightly bumping into her as they make their way towards the university.

"And you're starting to sound like you were lying when you said you didn't swing that way, what with you getting me all alone…" Rukia jokes. Soi Fon laughs, again. It's like this newborn power of Rukia's, making her laugh; whenever Rukia makes such 'dry' and 'humourless' jokes around Momo, that girl only glares at her and throws a pillow in her face, begging her to please, stop, or she'll die. Honestly…

"Nah, I'm just really awkward around people."

"You and me both. People are just really hard to deal with."

"Yeah, man. People are just…_ugh_."

"Totally."

There is a silence around them that's almost comforting – the rhythmic crunching of leaves under their feet and the low whistles of the early autumn wind. The sense of newfound camaraderie, with the both of them taking arms against the social norms and expectations...Rukia can almost hear her brother blowing a gasket, if he ever finds out that she had just made such a friend. He already disapproves of Momo – '_that girl is too wild for a Kuchiki to associate with_' – and had even associated her to '_a challenge that a Kuchiki must not back down from_'. She can only imagine what he'd say if he sees her hanging out with Soi Fon, this rebellious girl sneaking into a university in the wee hours of the night.

"So, where are we going?" Rukia asks, careful not to break the oh-so-delicate silence by not raising her voice too much. Also, she doesn't want to get caught by any roving professors.

"There's this building – no one really knows where it is except a few students like me – for people who take a minor in music. Students like me tend to have wild imaginative outbursts in the middle of the night, and we absolutely _have_ to get a record or something…so they give a select few a key to there."

"So what is it, exactly?"

"It's a place with records, I told you. Like, musical records, the ones that are all vintage and vinyl, y'know? There are some cassettes, and CDs. And there's this little room with a computer in it, and you get to mix music and stuff. And there's another room where you can record music or practice music, like in a band. It's pretty cool."

"And you always have a key with you?"

"Just in case of an imaginative outburst," she answers before stopping in front of a rustic-looking building at the outskirts of the campus. It's not a building as much as a little…block, smaller than the other 'buildings' Rukia is normally used to. It's only made up of one floor and, even though it looks quite expansive, it still looks just about the size of the koi pond in the Kuchiki manor, if the koi pond suddenly turned rectangular and flat. Its wooden shingles looked ready to fall off, and it had a few windows on either side of the door.

She takes out a key out of a set of four – simple and silver, labelled 'MAIN' glinting under the dull moonlight – and turns it as she continues to speak. "It's really far out, see, so no one ever bothers to come except the students and our one professor, Komamura-sensei. But he's really shy and nice and spouts off stuff about loyalty, and he's usually taking care of his, like, gazillion dogs, so he trusts us. Or something."

She opens the door, then, and flicks the light switch on beside the door.

Lights flicker on, illuminating a tiled hallway. Its walls were decorated with art that might have looked like graffiti at first glance, but were actually intricate pieces of spray-painted art covering the dirty white paint. There were only four doors, three of them evenly space and one in the far right looking squashed there in the corner.

Soi Fon points at it. "That's Komamura-sensei's office. The one in front of us and the one to your right all lead to the music room, the one with records and stuff. It has a computer there, too. And the one on the left is the practice room, but no one ever really goes there nowadays, and it's kinda sad."

She smiles and, with a jerk of her head, Rukia follows her as she unlocks the door in front of them with the key labelled 'RECS(1)'. The door jamb rattles a while, and Soi Fon grunts as she pushes against the door itself with her shoulder. The door gives way, making Soi Fon stumble a little. She mumbles under her breath about the door being 'stupid' and a 'whore' (how can a door be a whore, Rukia doesn't know), but Soi Fon flicks a light switch and the room is swathed with light.

Rukia _almost_ gasps. It is only through rigorous years of Kuchiki training that she doesn't, and so she settles for an almost-gasp, which leaves her looking like a dying fish.

Rows and rows of music, each neatly labelled by genre, laid out in front of her; around the room, speakers are scattered in a seemingly random fashion, but she can tell that they've been strategically placed to achieve the most ambience when the music is playing. She assumes that there must be a player for each kind of recording down here. There is a small set of steps, and she feels herself merely floating above it in excitement.

Her glee must have been palpable enough for Soi Fon to chuckle at it. "So, you like music, huh?"

Rukia huffs, and turns around the face her. "Have you heard the name 'Kuchiki' anywhere?"

"Everywhere," Soi Fon replies. "Who hasn't?"

Rukia looks at her meaningfully, even raising both eyebrows to emphasise her point, but Soi Fon only…_shrugs_. The girl shrugs it off like the Japanese military isn't practically under the thumb of Kuchiki Corp., like she and her brother alike have been featured too many times in too many articles, like all those same newspapers and magazines aren't raving about how one should go to one of their hotels.

And, an even more selfish part of her is dumbfounded at the fact that this girl – this girl who claims that she likes music enough to have a minor in it – has not heard _her name_ before.

"So?" Soi Fon only says, which makes Rukia…shockingly…_relieved_. Of course, that only occurs a few seconds after the initial disbelief, but still, it's…_new_. Rukia's used to having people grovel at her feet once they hear her name – hell, on her first day, even the professors stuttered in her presence – but this…this is… "You're that Kuchiki girl, right? The one who they say is a musical genius?"

"Y-yeah," she answers. She can only blink as Soi Fon smirks at her before pushing her shoulder lightly. "W-what…?"

"You ever hear of the Shihoins…?"

"Wh…" she mumbles, before it hits her. The Shihoins were very influential in the business world until they took a blow with the disappearance of the CEO, leaving only her young teenage child at the helm. The Kuchiki have tried to save the business – she knows this by the way her brother had been swamped with more paperwork than she'd ever seen during the whole affair – but it seems that the help was barely received. Apparently, the teenage girl who led it had little experience, but apparently is still keeping the business afloat while studying at the same time; that same girl had actually flat-out refused to build a partnership with Kuchiki Corp. … "I've heard how –wait, what –oh, wow –no, you can't be –_that_ Shihoin girl?"

"You make it sound like I'm a whole different species," her new friend mutters.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Rukia exclaims, her voice reverberating throughout the room. "But…wow. My brother used to be so mad when the CEO left the Shihoin Group…I mean, as mad as he can be." She laughs nervously. "Kuchiki pride apparently means being expressionless all the time, so…"

Soi Fon just rolls her eyes. "Just forget it. So we're equals, okay?" She grabs Rukia's wrist and leads her to one of the many rows, down the 'alternative' section of the room. Soi Fon grabs a CD, rushes off somewhere, and suddenly –

Music.

Beautiful, music.

And not just any music – guitars and drums and respectable vocals, with good lyrics and…

Oh, those notes. How…totally…_ear-gasmic_.

While Rukia opted for a psychology degree and had wanted to take the straight-and-narrow, she could never get rid of the music in her bones.

Not really.

She had wanted to, right after Kaien's death, more so after her sister's. When Hisana died, she stopped playing altogether. She'd taken herself out of _Toho_, much to her brother's disapproval, and gotten herself into _Todai_ without even having to try (she just had to study with music in her head and _voila_). Still, she'd gotten a course that she thought would distance her from music altogether, but that infernal love of notes and measures and rests and bars won't just leave her.

As tonight seems to be an example of.

"It's not the best," Soi Fon says from behind her, interrupting her reverie before it got any worse. "But I guess it's fine. I mean, I want to do something better, but I can't let myself get distracted, so I took this course so it _won't_ be a distraction."

Ah, now that's one way to look at it. Actually, it's the way that Rukia's been avoiding for months now…although, tonight, it seems that avoiding that way is a pretty cowardly thing to do. And Rukia is anything but a coward.

"What did you say your degree was?"

"Business Management. Minor in music."

"That's really…uh…diverse?"

"College is like that." Soi Fon nervously shifts her gaze to the side before saying: "So I guess you're pretty freaked out, huh, me bringing you to this place?"

Rukia laughs. "Oh, _yeah_," she answers sarcastically, earning a grin from Soi Fon. "I'm totally afraid of you. Ooh, please, save me, anyone." She sobers up, then, before giving Soi Fon an honest-to-God smile. "Thanks, Shihoin-san."

"Hey, what's with that?" Soi Fon berates her with a smirk. "I thought it was 'Soi Fon'…_Ku-chi-ki-san_?"

"Fine, fine," Rukia says with a huff. "And it's not Kuchiki-san. It's Rukia."

"Pleasure to meet ya, Rukia."

"The pleasure is all mine, Soi Fon."

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	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Well, this is a tad bit shorter than the last one, but who cares, right? (Ahahahaha...*crickets*) The liquorice I mentioned here is something I had at last year's Oz Comic Con.

*mini story time* I was walking around and suddenly (*spots a certain candy stand right near the place where they sell cheap DVDs*) "Wow, that looks awesome." (*sees friend eating it, and immediately wants to throw up at the thought of _liquorice_ entering my system, but asks anyway*) "Is it nice?" (*doesn't wait for friend to answer and take a bite off of hers*) "OH MY GOD THIS IS AMAZING" (*buys three of them instantly*). *end of story*

And that is how I came across such a wonderful piece of candy. I usually hate liquorice, but I bought long ones! And they were worth the small toothache after! They're like AUD$10 for three, but TOTALLY WORTH IT, OKAY. So, for this tiny chapter, I converted 10 bucks into yen and voila. It's actually kind-of expensive, now that I think about it... (this is the one I was referring to: www. sweetandsour. com. )

Also: the reference about Rukia loving sweet things is on the Bleach short story, "Honey Dish Rhapsody". And the reference about Momo liking watermelons? Need I explain? Anywho, enjoy.

A shout-out to "D": I LOVE YOU. Thank you so much for reviewing and favourite-ing and doing all the things that make me happy that just makes me want to marry you but I can't because that would be creepy. BUT I STILL LOVE YOU.

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**Point 2: Setting the stones**

"Holy fuck Jesus," Rukia mutters in one breath upon arrival at her room. Her mystery roommate remained that – a mystery – but right now, she can't bring herself to care.

After the night she met Soi Fon, she found out that her new friend and Momo had most of their classes together. While this shouldn't have bothered Rukia all that much, she knew Momo's tendency to strike up conversation between their mutual friend with an embarrassing memory of Rukia's. It was why, just after class, she found Soi Fon and Momo walking next to each other, _laughing_ at her. It hadn't been just her imagination, either – they were looking at her and _laughing_ so loudly about something that Rukia didn't care to know. She doesn't want to know, either. _Traitors_. They're probably conspiring to prank her or do something very, very annoying, and Rukia wouldn't know.

Not only that, but the day had been absolutely _gruelling_, with upcoming exams and quizzes and that goddamn surprise test in Psychology 101. She was glad, of course, that she at least re-read some of the material from the last lecture, and thank _fuck_ she did that. However, that meant kicking Momo out despite her promise of ice cream and falling asleep before her roommate could return from her part-time job (or, at least Rukia thought it was a part-time job…she _hopes _ it is, anyway). Momo had taken great offence and brutally reminded her that her month-long grace period was almost up.

"Fuck," she curses again, throwing her bag on her bed and slamming her books on the desk, glad to arrive home earlier than usual. Such an action would have gained the notice of her brother back at home, but here…

She ruefully smiles as she heads towards the small fridge, her stomach growling for much-needed sugar. She pops a long, fruity liquorice – _mmm, strawberries_ – into her mouth and lets it hang between her teeth as she lazily chews on it. She grabs a hair clip and ties her hair up while checking the clock, thereby knowing that Momo is still out on classes. That meant that Rukia can't break into _her_ room, seeing as Momo confiscated the key the night before in another act of retaliation at Rukia turning down an offer of _food_, because God only knows what kind of wrath that would incur on anybody else –

The lock clicks and the door opens, grabbing Rukia's attention. Immediately, she breaks the liquorice away with a sharp tug – self-image before safety – even though she doesn't know who would possibly visit her at this time of the day.

A very tired-looking girl with chestnut brown hair stands in the doorway, staring back at her. Rukia notices, with slight distaste and a hint of envy, the way the girl's chest strains against an otherwise loose hoodie, as well as the way her body curved in a manner that would have turned so many heads. Rukia frowns – _this must be the roommate_ – and, not wanting to seem unfriendly, tries to smile despite her initial judgment of the girl. "Hi. You're the roommate…right?"

The girl seems to snap out of her stupor and blinks before smiling brightly at Rukia. She doesn't know if it's as fake as hers, or if the girl is just really friendly. "Hi!" The girl rushes forward to shake her hand so vigorously that Rukia muses if her shoulder can dislocate from such force. _Friendly it is_, she decides. "I'm Orihime Inoue! I'm glad I finally get to meet you. I don't think our schedules really match up, what with my job and the classes!"

"It's really nice to meet you," Rukia tells her, half-pretending to be at the very least cordial. She's nothing if not polite. Besides, the girl doesn't seem half-bad, either, if Rukia ignored the whole overly-eager attitude. "I gotta say, you've been quite the mystery for a while, Inoue-san, ahahaha…"

"Oh my, I'm sorry if I made you suspicious of me!" Orihime exclaims, proceeding to hug her.

_Hug. Her._

_No._

"Um…" Rukia mutters, feeling decidedly uncomfortable, stiffening in her grip. She's also acutely aware of the way her face is _pressing against Orihime's breasts_, which makes it increasingly hard to breathe. "Inoue-san…"

"Oh, right, sorry!" Orihime promptly releases her with a flustered grin. "Sorry, sorry, I was just really excited to meet you!"

_You don't say_. "Ahaha, well. So what's your part-time job about that it keeps you up so late?"

"I sing at a local bar," she replies with a smile as she places her clutch on her own bed. Rukia chews on her liquorice passively, keeping her attention on the girl. "I mean, I don't think I'm really good, but…"

_Music, huh?_ Rukia smiles and sits on her bed, facing Orihime. "I'd be glad to hear it one day. And what course are you taking?"

"Nursing," Orihime tells her, earning a slightly surprised look on Rukia's face. This girl? _Really?_ Rukia's glad that Orihime has her back turned, or she would have been really offended at the shock in Rukia's eyes that she quickly tries to settle. "I mean, not many people expect it, especially from me. I mean, I don't look it, do I?"

"Uh…"

"But I've always wanted to be a nurse, ever since my brother…" Orihime turns, and for some odd reason that Rukia can't place, she _knows_ that this one is totally fake, as well as the accompanying laugh that follows. "Sorry, I'm boring you right now, aren't I?"

"Not at all," Rukia quickly concedes. "Are you going out?"

"Nope," Orihime answers, dropping down on the bed with a small 'oof'. "The bar is closed tonight, so I have no work. Which is just as well, since I'm really tired…"

"Well," Rukia tells her, feeling particularly friendly as she stands up. "I'm sure that a little sugar can fix that." Orihime laughs again as she watches Rukia take out another long piece of liquorice and offer it to her. She accepts it with a polite 'thank you', and her eyes widen to the size of dinner plates at her first bite. Rukia smiles – truly, this time – at the recollection of _her_ own first taste of this wonderful piece of candy. "Great, right?"

"It's amazing!" Orihime gushes, jubilantly chewing on the sugar-coated candy. "And it's really long, too!"

"Well, I pay ¥ 1050 for three of them, so they _should_ be worth it," she says with a wry grin. "I have a whole stash of them in the fridge, if you haven't noticed…"

Just like that, Rukia finds herself…_talking_, and not just talking to be polite. No, she's actually making friends without insulting anything or finding anything in common with this strangely cheerful girl.

During the whole exchange, Rukia can't help thinking every so often – _I haven't talked this much before_. She isn't a naturally warm or friendly person, which is why she's been dubbed "Ice Princess" ever since high school began. Making small talk doesn't exactly come naturally to her, and all the overflowing joy was swept away by her Kuchiki upbringing. She doesn't…_make friends_ with a mere offer of liquorice and a few questions, but somehow, she's holding a conversation with a stranger that's actually lasting for more than a few minutes.

Granted, this stranger is destined to live and breathe in the same space as she is for the next few years, but still.

Aside from that, this Orihime girl looks to be Rukia's exact opposite, and not only in looks (although that _is_ a major factor). While Rukia has realistic views, for example, Orihime seems to keep going off on a tangent about rainbow unicorns and Transformers, all in one breath. Rukia's dark, comfortable sheets are in direct contrast with Orihime's yellow one with its six-pointed flower smack-dab in the middle, with its bright, light-blue shade amongst all that…that…_yellow_.

So, when Momo bursts in with another tub of ice cream (Rukia swears that Momo should be as chubby as a piece of Jell-o by now, but that doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon), she's quite surprised at the sight of Rukia smiling and talking and laughing with an otherwise total stranger over two liquorice sticks and the space of a few metres between their beds.

"Oh?" Momo says, raising an eyebrow at Rukia's peculiar behaviour. Rukia only sticks her tongue out at Momo, having finished her candy, and tries to ignore the wiggling eyebrows of her best friend. "Roommate?"

"Oh my gosh!" Orihime exclaims, seeming torn over taking Momo's hand to shake or simply settling to finish off the last inches of her liquorice. "Hi! Are you Kuchiki-san's friend?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Momo replies with a grin, just as Rukia says: "More like a pain in the ass."

"Hey," Momo berates, holding out a spoon to her. Rukia narrows her eyes at Momo, but quickly relents after a second's-worth of a glaring competition. "_This_ pain in the ass gives you ice cream. Be happy."

"Have you guys tried ice cream with bean paste?" Before either of them can politely decline, however, Orihime's already rushing to the small pantry and shuffling through the containers.

Rukia mouths 'I told you so' to Momo with a smug grin, referring to their argument a few nights back on who owned bean paste and wasabi, because neither of them are inclined to eat anything that's not sweet (well, that only applies to Rukia; Momo has a weird fetish for watermelons). Before Momo can give a sharp retort, Rukia has already stuck a spoonful of vanilla ice cream into her mouth and Orihime is practically bouncing in excitement.

And, despite how odd the circumstances are, Rukia and Momo have somehow managed to include another person into their little circle of friends.

Things are, indeed, looking up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Point 3: Placing the final piece**

"There are many things that you can say to a victim of bullying, but a few can actually make them feel better about themselves, thus giving them confidence – the lack of which has allowed them to be the subject of bullying. Can anyone tell me what types of things you should say to them in such cases?"

"Sorry I'm late!"

Rukia doesn't even bother rolling her eyes at the late comer. It's always been the same person for a good half of the year, and now that the semester is finally coming to a close, it seems that this regular late person still doesn't know how to set her own alarm clock.

Sadly, during the duration of the semester, Rukia has turned into a zombie. A figurative one, granted, but still a zombie. She's not in danger of eating anyone's grey matter anytime soon, but she is in danger of chewing off her own tongue and burning her brain to inject the ashes into her eyes. The course is doing a number on her, and it doesn't help that Momo still finds the energy to drag her off to someplace, and Soi Fon is gone most of the time due to 'business issues' (therefore, no one be anti-social with and no one to give her access to the music records in that-old-building-she-keeps-forgetting-the-name-of ). Whenever she's looking for Orihime's vibrancy and easy companionship, the girl is out on her job or on some lecture, and whenever she just wants to drop dead, Orihime conveniently arrives and starts (attempting) to force whatever concoction-slash-poison down her throat. Not to mention the lectures, the notes, the quizzes…

She breezed through high school, but now that the academics are more important than music…suffice to say, today she has eye bags the size of Europe and hair that can be passed off as a bird's nest. She probably stinks like last night's "casserole" (if it can be called that – it _had_ been suspiciously twitching last night when Orihime offered it to her…). She's in a hoodie and loose pants and _Crocs_ (she curses waking up later than usual, resulting in a mad dash for anything that's presentable – what possessed her to think that Crocs are presentable, she doesn't know ), and she doesn't blame anyone for wanting to steer clear of her today.

Even that bitch sitting in front of her is giggling and casting backwards glances at her and her feet. She looks up from her notes – finally – and flips off the snickering whore. She just raises an eyebrow at this behaviour – like she's any better! – and succeeds in irritating Rukia to no end. She swears she's been dealing with those looks from the same asswipe no-lifers, but she can't really be sure, since faces are starting to run together in her head.

Just as she's about to reach down (and most likely write on the bitch's neck with her handy marker), someone sits next to her.

"Hey," the perpetually late woman greets from beside her. She glares, but the girl only laughs silently. "What'd I miss?"

"Your alarm clock," she snaps agitatedly, returning to her notes. Honestly, she doesn't have time for –

"I like you."

This makes Rukia blink. And finally, she looks to her side to see a college girl that surpassed Orihime in the T-and-A department. This is quite an amazing feat, Rukia thinks, because she's guessed from the many times that Orihime has had to replace her jackets or tops due to the amount of zips and buttons that have broken that Orihime probably has boobs that no one can compare to. But _no_, because apparently, God has decided to rub it in Rukia's face that she can never have such (bothersome) assets, since this girl looks like the cover girl for Victoria's Secret triple-D lace bras.

"Excuse me?"

"I like you," the girl repeats, enunciating each word. Before Rukia can say anything scathing, the girl reaches out…and _ruffles her hair_.

_What is it_ with girls like her wanting to give people like Rukia some kind of overly-touchy-feely gestures?

Does Rukia's face scream 'adorable'? Does her body yell 'huggable'? Hell, does her hair seem like it _wants_ to be the slightest bit _touched_ by a fucking _stranger_?

"Matsumoto-san," the professor calls, halting his lecture with an exasperated look on his tired, worn face, "please refrain from bothering Kuchiki-sama."

"'Rukia' is fine," she corrects out of habit. She realises too late that everyone is looking at her like she's the biggest piece of diamond on earth.

Well, everyone except those whores sitting in front of her (they're glaring at her now). And her professor. And this 'Matsumoto' person who has had the bad luck to sit next to her today. Or maybe that's the other way around.

That just makes her want to quit even more. Quit…everything.

Just.

Quit.

"But sir," Matsumoto says, recovering quickly with a smirk. "I like _Ru-ki-a_-san."

"Uh…"

"See, she's rocking that grunge look…and that hoodie. Man, I swear I the frayed-sleeve thing is _so_ a thing now. And those Crocs? Mm-hmm. Wow, I mean, I've never seen Crocs look good on _anybody_, ya know? And these lost Oompa Loompas in front of me," she says, pointing to Rukia's new arch enemies, her tone turning from sassy to downright insulting, "have no right to fucking insult anyone who's been dealing with their shit for half a year. This chick right here, I don't care who she is, _she is fucking beautiful_, just like everyone else, and don't any single one of you forget it."

She crosses her arms in front (more like below) her huge chest, sporting a triumphant grin aimed at…well, whoever. Most likely the professor. Everyone – including Rukia – is still struck dumb with…whatever Matsumoto just said. Rukia doesn't even believe that _whatever happened_…actually happened.

"I believe that's what you're supposed to say to victims of bullying, right? Or did I just answer the wrong question?"

xx

The next day – their last day of classes before the holidays – Rukia decides to skip the lecture. She can catch up some time during the holidays, maybe e-mail her professor. Besides, what else is she doing anyway? She'll probably just endure long hours of being forced into dolling herself up for social functions which won't do her any good in the future. Maybe her brother will ignore her presence this time and allow her to have these days all to herself.

Momo's parents are traditional, so they'd probably haul her ass off somewhere warm. Orihime mentioned something about travelling. Soi Fon…well, Soi Fon's presence is probably a mandatory thing in those social gatherings that, on more than one occasion, she is said to hate.

Alone during the holidays.

_Heaven_.

If it had been any time in the past when…when _nee-san_ was alive (although not necessarily well), she would be asked by her sister to stay and accompany her while nii-sama is out making professional connections and political friendships, and Rukia wouldn't mind at all. She'd play to nee-san, and nee-san would smile at her and say that she's expressing everything through music. And then…then nee-san would invite her to bed and Rukia would listen to nee-san sing even though her voice is a little quieter –

Her musings are cut off by a sharp rap to the door. Her closed eyes twitch in annoyance. Didn't she put up the 'Do Not Disturb' door sign a few hours earlier? It had worked, hadn't it?

How long has she been in bed for, anyway?

Another series of knocks, this time, harder and faster in intervals. Wow, this person must be pretty desperate. Rukia scowls to herself – why can't she just have a goddamned day – and yells at the person that she'd be there soon.

Taking a few seconds, she manages to lift her ass out of bed and wrap the comfortable blanket around her shoulders as she shuffles forward like a zombie.

A homeless zombie.

But zombies don't seem to really care about that kind of thing, so why should she?

…On second thought, that might actually be her research material, come her Masters degree – how zombies are a perfect representation of a utopian society, not judging each other and merely moving towards a singular goal: sustenance.

Beautiful.

She expects hours and hours of watching zombie movies when that time comes.

The thought makes her grin a little as she throws open the door.

"_What_?" she snaps. Her semi-glare becomes a look of surprise when she sees Matsumoto at her doorstep.

Damn it. She's in her goddamn underwear, and her feet are clad in bunny slippers, and she hasn't been out of bed since this morning.

Her stomach grumbles loudly to signify that fact, and to acknowledge the smell that is wafting from the plastic bag that Matsumoto is lugging around with one hand, while the other is holding a manila envelope.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Matsumoto asks with a smile.

Rukia blinks like this idea is new to her – she seems to be doing that a lot lately – and moves aside. Matsumoto steps in and takes in the room: the two oppositely-coloured beds, the small round table with two seats on either side, the small fridge, the small stove, the small cupboard above the small stove. Actually, now that Rukia looks at it, everything is small. The only big thing might be the contents of their cramped shower, but that's a thing to lament about for another day.

"Cosy," Matsumoto points out, setting down the plastic bag on the table before giving Rukia a glance as she closes the door. Matsumoto grins at the way Rukia tightens the blanket around her form. "One-night stand, or did you not just dress for the occasion? You're not naked under that, are you?"

She blushes at the thought of a _one-night stand_, at the same time wondering how this type of woman can possibly be the source of such…sassiness…from yesterday's class. "I-I'm not…!"

"Well, I don't care either way," Matsumoto tells her with a shrug. She holds the manila envelope up to catch Rukia's attention before placing it on the table beside the plastic bag. "There're the notes you missed for today. _Ossan_ isn't giving us anything to do for the holidays. The food is from your friend. I met her on the way here and she said to give it to you, or else you'd forget to eat."

"Thanks…I guess…"

"Don't mention it." The woman smiles at her again. "And the thing from yesterday? I just felt like doing it."

What she meant to say is: "Are you fucking crazy? Why the hell would you even do that?" but what came out is: "Wh – _huh_?"

"I saw you on the first day, ignoring the insults those wannabes gave you. At first I thought, what a stuck-up _whore._ But then I saw you doing the same thing, and I saw them doing the same things, every day. And then…I don't know. I just like how you dealt with them. Even though I already knew your name before…"

"Oh?"

"My boyfriend took me on one of your concerts when we were 16. Good job, by the way."

Rukia feels a smile creep onto her face. It's so…_nice_ to meet people like this; like they don't care who she is or where she's from or what she's done in the past. They just care who she is right now, and she thinks –_ I wish I can think that way, too_. She wants to just forget about the past for a few seconds and forget who she's been before, and start being…Rukia. Just Rukia. And people like Soi Fon and Orihime and Matsumoto see her as Rukia first, not as a Kuchiki. She's grateful for that. In a way, she wants to return the gesture, too. She doesn't want to question anybody on their pasts, because she knows how hellish it would feel to have someone question her back.

Besides, she's starting to get used to people like that. She doesn't want to ruin it now, especially since she's been on a lucky streak by meeting these people and having them actually show some semblance of interest with her.

"Thanks." Rukia sits down at the table, and motions for Matsumoto to take the seat across from her.

"You don't mind me being here?"

"You don't mind being here, do you?" she asks back, opening the plastic bag with one hand, letting the other hold the blanket around herself.

"Nope," Matsumoto answers with a smile, before reaching forward to ruffle Rukia's hair affectionately. This time, Rukia doesn't react. Her next few words, however, manage to make Rukia accidentally break her chopsticks in half: "I bet you're as cute as your little boobs when you eat."

Rukia chokes on nothing. She sputters and blushes madly, looking at Matsumoto like she'd just grown two heads with the way she's laughing her ass off. "Wh – what the – how can you – how do you even know _how_ my boobs are?! And they're _not_ 'cute'!"

"Yeah, pert, petite, mosquito bites, fits in the palm of any guy's hand…whatever," Matsumoto tells her with a smirk, making Rukia fume at the ears with the barrage of insults. "Well? Aren't you going to eat? I can't have my child _starve_."

"_Child_?!"

"Of course! After all I went through to save you from those meanies…" she coos, pinching Rukia's cheeks, further irking her. "Now who's my little baby? That's right, little Ruki-chan! I'll give you all the food you want! I'll fatten you up and…and…I'll hug you forever! Doesn't that sound fantastic?!"

Sometimes, Rukia wonders why she even lets these _crazy_ people barge into her life like this.

God forbid she turn into _one of them_.


	4. Chapter 4

**Point 4: The Anti-Climax**

They had been friends for three years when tragedy struck. Each and every one of them was hopeful that college would turn out to be quite uneventful, seeing as fate seems to have had enough of dealing them the bad hand. Apparently, that hope is false, because when the world hit them, it hit _hard_.

The Shihoin Group had been robbed of all the pennies it's worth – assets gone in the blink of an eye…or, in this case, a simple 'Enter' button. Rangiku almost got raped one night had it not been for Rukia's timely intervention, and her beloved boyfriend, seemingly erased from existence: no records, not even a single blip on Google. Orihime got fired from her job. Momo became involved in drugs. Rukia…well, Rukia's just caught in the middle.

Which is why she is currently holding down their "base of operations" – in other words, her and Orihime's room – while Orihime is coaxing everyone into coming. Rukia's figured long ago that it won't do anyone any good if she talked to them one by one and besides, it usually takes all of them to cheer up one 'member' of the group. She would have done this sooner, of course, if Orihime hadn't gotten that internship at the hospital, or if she didn't have such a busy schedule with both school and Byakuya's persistence at her being involved in the "family business".

She is agitatedly chewing on a liquorice stick when the door opens for the first time that afternoon.

"Rukia-chan," Orihime greets, towing Momo along by the arm. "Momo-chan agreed to come, but the others…"

Rukia sighs at the sight of Momo – it looks as if the girl hasn't combed her hair for a week. Her eyes are bloodshot and constantly darting between Orihime and Rukia, and she even _smells_ like she hasn't bathed in a while. Her lips are chapped, there are bags under her eyes, her nails are unkempt, and her skin looked about the same complexion as the blank piece of paper Rukia is trying to write her report on.

"What's this?" Momo inquires as Orihime leads her on the bed. _Good God…_ "Rukia? Orihime?"

"Would you mind leaving us for a while, Orihime-san?" Rukia asks politely, all the while fighting off the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose to stop an oncoming migraine. She knows she's been busy for a week due to the mountainous pile of homework and projects, as well as the presentations that are due for the week after, but…

Looking at her best friend now, she can't help but feel utterly…dejected, as if Momo had cut _her_ off and hadn't trusted her enough to – well, do whatever. Why had Momo done drugs in the first place?

Rukia's knowledge tells her that Momo is seeking to run away from something – but what? And why can't she trust Rukia to help her, instead of turning to those kinds of things?

Orihime nods in agreement. "I'll try to convince the others to join us."

"Thanks," Rukia murmurs half-heartedly. The other half is wondering if this is a good idea after all.

Once the door shuts, she moves from her spot at the small dining table and instantly grabs Momo by the shoulders. "_This _has got to stop!"

"'This'…?"

"Drugs, Momo!" she practically screams, frantic now. She's learnt a lot about reigning in her emotions, but her heart is stuck in her throat and her gut is churning with anxiety, and she's afraid that if she keeps her fear for her friend locked inside the safeguard of her heart then it'll burst. This fear fuels her muscles, prompting her to shake Momo repeatedly. "Why…?"

Momo's eyes harden from the initial shock, and she swats Rukia's hand away. Her face is hidden by the choppy fringe, but Rukia can see the grim set of her lips. "'Why'?" A bitter chuckle emits from Momo's throat and – as if that wasn't enough of a shock – turns into full-blown, maniacal laughter that leaves Rukia silent. It dies down instantly, and now…Momo's eyes are empty as she looks at Rukia. "You would know…you _should_ know…but all you ever care about is your precious Nii-sama and your studies and kissing everyone's ass! You don't care about me, so don't try to pretend –!"

"I'm not pretending, Momo," she tells her, all seriousness and…pity. She can feel neither sympathy nor empathy – there is nothing she can feel but pity for this girl who had so much going for her, only to…

She shakes the thoughts out of her head. No, she can't be that way to Momo. Instead, she grabs the girl's hand with both of hers – cold against searing warmth – and looks her straight in the eye, as if those can anchor Momo to the world. As if those actions can reach her. "I care about you. You are like a sister to me, and right now, I have to tell you what you're doing is wrong."

At the sudden flinching of Momo's shoulders, Rukia knows she's at least chipped away a good part of the safeguard of Momo's secret. Which, apparently, is so terrible that she has turned to drugs. "You have to let me in, Momo." She sighs. "I thought you trusted me…"

"I do!" Momo blurts out, hazy eyes suddenly clear and full of…contempt? "I trusted you, and…and you left me! I had no one!"

"All you had to do was come into my room like you usually do."

"…You look really busy all the time! I didn't want to disturb you."

"You're my friend, you _always_ disturb me." She flashes a small grin. "Besides, I've missed your ice cream. I think I'm starting to go into withdrawal…"

Momo looks stunned, almost to the point of complete disbelief. "You…missed…?"

"The ice cream," Rukia states blatantly, before chuckling good-heartedly to imply that she had been joking. She hasn't dropped Momo's hand once, even though they're too hot to touch.

Hands…

_That's it_.

"Hey, you wanna play something?" she asks coyly, dropping Momo's hands like they are hot coals. Her friend takes no notice of this and stands with her, narrowing her eyes at Rukia all the while.

"It's not some weird-ass game, is it?"

"Is playing music a game to you now?"

For the first time since Rukia has seen Momo, her lips twitch upward in an indication of a smile. "We don't have our instruments with us. We left them behind, remember?"

"I know a place," Rukia tells her offhandedly, shrugging on a jacket and grabbing the keys and her phone from the bedside table. "Soi Fon will let us in."

"And Rangiku? Have you stopped caring about her, too?"

"I'll teach her," she reassures her now-paranoid friend. Those drugs need to be washed out of her system, and Rukia knows that music will always calm Momo down. Maybe leaving their instruments behind had been a bad idea…

"I'm not playing a violin anymore, no way," Momo says, indignantly crossing her arms over her chest as she walks – hunched and curled in on herself – behind Rukia out of the room.

She thinks of this for a while, before grinning at her conclusion – "You know bass?"

It would make sense, she figures. String instrument players usually have a hard time learning a percussion instrument if they've learned how to play strings first. Since the building Soi Fon had showed her all those months ago had a recording studio, it would also make sense that none of the instruments they're used to will be there; guitars and basses and drums will be in their place.

Which, Rukia thinks, is a perfect change of pace. Her fingers are always uncontrollably twitching, pressing on invisible strings or playing an invisible grand piano whenever she hears a musical piece…_any_ musical piece.

_Besides, I'm not really going back to the way I was before_, she reassures herself as she quickly sends a text to Orihime to get Rangiku to meet the three of them in the building. Once the text has been sent, she sends another to Soi Fon, near-ordering her to get her ass in _that place_.

All the while, Momo walks closer to Rukia, lending Rukia her warmth when the cold wind blows, ruffling their hair – Rukia's well-groomed one, and Momo's scraggly brown locks. For a second, Rukia allows a smile to grace her face. Maybe…this warmth can be given by their music, too…

.

.

**A/N**: Lol, okay, I admit, I got off to a blast-worthy start with this fic, but then I just kind-of deviated from it to writing The Learning Curve again. I've been meaning to write more stuff for this, but I keep forgetting to do it. So, sorry if I made y'all wait, and if I disappointed with this chapter by making it too short (even to _my_ liking). Anyway, this chapter sort-of introduces the major conflicts that have affected some of the members of our good ol' Gotei 13, as well as how they started playing music together. The next chapter will be the last one (or maybe it's the one after that?). I'll try to write as often as I can.

-C.E


	5. Chapter 5

**Point 5: Crossing the Bridge**

Rukia sighs as she trails behind her friends. Her shoulder sags – her bag is heavy with sheet music, guitar tabs and chords, and lyrics. She's been delegated "Official Paper Carrier" for the week, and like Rangiku the week before, she's not enjoying it at all.

It's been a gruelling year – on top of her schoolwork and general 'people' drama, she's now added 'music' to her list of things she needs to get on top of. Her idea of getting everyone to play music was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, something to knock everyone to their senses. She didn't mean for Rangiku to reveal that she knows a little bit about guitar. She didn't mean to reveal that she knows how to play it, and in turn, got stuck with teaching Rangiku how to play it better (well, it _had_ been Rukia's idea, but it was at the spur of the moment and had been a slip of the tongue, which went something like – "Oh _god,_ you're so bad at this! Just let me teach you how to play it!").

Not only that, but since Momo and Soi Fon are graduating from their business degrees, they have more free time, which means that they have more time to come up with songs to drag Rukia into playing with them. This then leads to Orihime offering to sing, and Rangiku having to come to them because she's bored and has also apparently developed a taste for alternative rock music. Rukia warned her that she'd get sore fingers, but did she listen? Of course _not_. Rangiku has been complaining since the start of the week about how rough her fingers are, despite the fact that she's gotten used to playing for long periods of time.

Rukia glares forward again. It's all her fault, and now she has to deal with it. Damn it.

They walk across the university, dealing with looks that range from adoring stares and deathly glares.

During one of their "sessions", Soi Fon recorded the whole band playing and, as a prank meant for Rukia (who had a cold at the time and did not sound very good at vocals), sent it to the radio station under an anonymous identity. It wasn't long before it aired, and the hunt for the "unknown artist who sent it from Todai" began. They'd had to stay away from the music area for a while, although once or twice, they kind-of just went when they checked that nobody was following them (everyone was following everyone back in those days).

When Rukia and Co. got sent to the Dean's, they immediately thought that they were in trouble. However, it seems as if Komamura-sensei heard them, recognised them, and – in a burst of excitement – told the Dean about it. In fact, the Dean himself became a fan of their song, and encouraged them to play even more. He'd even offered to lighten their course work to do it, and of course they'd gladly agreed, especially since the Dean offered to enforce a rule in the university that their identities would remain in Todai.

That was roughly five months ago.

Now, they're recording songs every week and sending them under anonymous identity to the radio station, which gladly plays their songs. No one outside of their university knows who they are, so they aren't being constantly mobbed by their increasing fan base. Now that Rukia thinks about it, it's not all that bad…

And while they're walking on a road, a familiar limousine cruises beside Rukia.

She stops, and her friends stop chatting and turn around. Momo's eyes widen in recognition as a certain Byakuya Kuchiki steps out, suit and all.

"N-nii-sama!" Rukia blurts out in shock, stepping back to give them more space. Byakuya regards her coldly, but she reassures herself with the fact that he does that with everyone. "How did you..?"

"I have been informed of your…musical fame," he says, somehow sounding like he forced the last two words out quite painfully. Rukia decides to dwell on the fact that he's _heard_ of her; he sounds like…he's actually heard them play. "Understand that this does not upset me, although the particular genre you are exploring is…controversial. I have removed myself from the offices and sought to talk with you. While this may not be the most private space, it would have to do. You know I have a lot of paperwork to attend to."

She nods, unnerved by his unexpected arrival; _unexpected_ being the understatement of the century. At any other time, she'd be dressed 'appropriately', but she's just wearing worn-out jeans and an oversized jumper over a three-day-old shirt. Her tennis shoes are nothing compared to his Italian loafers. Besides, she looks like she hasn't brushed her hair in days. This is not exactly how she wants to present herself to her 'honorable' older brother. "I understand, nii-sama. What…have you come here to talk to me about?"

"Are you still finishing your degree despite the music?"

"Y-yes…?"

He nods in semi-approval. This is more than enough. This does not prepare her for what may be the most emotional thing Byakuya can ever utter: "I cannot control your actions in the future, nor which path you would take. Should you choose the music path, I will fully support you. Hisana…she will approve of it. However, I require your consent to have full control over any extra finances, as well as your accommodations."

Well, okay. The 'I will support you' bit was comforting. She nods again; she knows that this 'accommodation' thing is probably for his new line of hotels. Good for the business. She doesn't even want to know what 'extra finances' are. "H-hai, nii-sama."

Frankly, she's still trying to come to terms with the fact that Byakuya is neither approving nor disapproving, let alone that he said _Hisana's name_. That's been the taboo of the Kuchiki household for years, and the pain isn't wearing off any.

They say a hasty goodbye – on Byakuya's part, a _cold_ one – and Rukia is left standing dumbstruck at the sidewalk.

"Your brother is as cold as I remember," Momo says right beside her ear, making her jump slightly. She looks behind her, and sees her friends assembled behind Momo, wide-eyed (except for Soi Fon) and awe-struck by the appearance of a well-known corporate giant.

"He's sexy," Rangiku comments with a wink. "Like a prince, he comes and goes in his mighty steed-limousine thing…"

Rukia shivers. "Ugh, please, _don't_. Enough women drool over him as it is. It's kind-of annoying."

"Whatever," Rangiku dismisses. "Orihime-chan, what do you think?"

"W-well, Rukia-chan, he _is_ quite attractive…"

"Oh god, can we stop talking about Kuchiki's brother?" Soi Fon snaps, much to Rukia's relief. "Anyway, as I was talking about before, I think I've finally found our manager. Her name's Nanao Ise and…guys…I think she's the one."

Rukia raises an eyebrow at this. "Why are you being creepy – wait, a manager? Are we seriously going full-time? "

Momo shrugs. "It's unanimous."

"But –,"

"Unanimous."

"Momo –,"

"_Un-a-ni-mous_."

"This isn't a democracy!"

"Says you," Soi Fon says, looking bored as she twirls one drumstick in each hand. Rukia's noticed that she seems to be doing that a lot lately. "Orihime-chan and Rangiku-san agree."

Rukia makes a sound between a dying whale and a drowning cow as she begins to walk again. "Why does nobody ever listen to me…?"

"We listened to you when you said that music can make us feel better!" Orihime pipes in. Rukia knows that it's an attempt to make her feel better (and less like a wind-up guitarist-slash-paper-carrier-whose-shoulder-is-ab out-to-fall-off), but the intended effect doesn't exactly get through to their other three friends, who snicker at her.

"Yep, and look where that's got us," Rangiku not-so-helpfully chimes, keeping in pace with Rukia.

"Fine, if you guys are so eager to form a stupid band, what would the band's name be?"

"Gotei 13!" they answer at the same time, wide grins on their faces. A vein throbs on Rukia's forehead.

"Should I even ask?" she voices out loud, bemoaning her fate.

"It sounds cool," Momo starts.

"Bad-ass," Soi Fon adds.

"Nice!" Orihime says.

"Actually," Rangiku starts, "it means –,"

"No one cares about what it means," Momo and Soi Fon say in tandem.

"I did _not_ ask," Rukia grumbles. "Why are you guys all deciding this without me?"

"You were sulking behind us," Momo points out with a snarky grin. "Besides, we knew you'd oppose to it when you heard what we were talking about, and you'd probably 'convince' us like you 'convinced' that guy who tried to put the moves on you a few nights ago. How's his _swollen dick_, by the way?"

"Okay, a, I didn't kick that hard – I think," she retorts, "and b, you suck. Especially _you_, Momo. But not you, Orihime-chan. I actually like you."

"Yay!" comes the reply, followed with her telling all about her teddy bear to an unlucky Soi Fon.

"What about me?" Rangiku whines, draping both arms around Rukia's shoulders and effectively pressing her ample chest against the side of Rukia's face. Suffice to say, it's not the most comfortable thing on earth.

"I'd like you if you suffocated me less," Rukia answers. Rangiku doesn't relent and starts _snuggling_ the top of her head like she's some sort of teddy bear.

"You already look blue, actually…" Momo says, but actually laughs at her demise…

.

.

One year later

"So, Gotei 13, your fans from around the globe want to know: how did you all get together?"

Nanao motions wildly behind the scenes – this wasn't expected. They had no tailored answers for this.

Rukia keeps an impassive face – which she's getting better at every day – while Momo and Orihime smile sweetly. Soi Fon just looks her normal bored self, and Rangiku is grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Well," Momo begins, "the story is long…"

"And complicated," Rukia chimes in, trying not to sound like she's about to laugh at the absurd question, and the vague answer.

"We met in Todai," Orihime answers smoothly.

"Oh? Todai?" the youthful host inquires, taken aback by the fact that they all attended the top university in Japan.

"Oh, yes!" the lead singer of Gotei 13 replies, clapping her hands together. Nanao looks relieved; the questions that they _want_ to answer have been smoothly integrated into the conversation. Just one of Orihime's powers that she doesn't seem to be aware of, Rukia thinks. "Yesterday was actually Kuchiki-san and Matsumoto-san's graduation! I finished a year before, and Momo-chan and Soi Fon-chan before that."

"You must all be pretty smart!"

Rukia cracks a grin, breaking her 'image' for the smallest moment to say: "Don't judge a book by its cover, Shirei-san."

The host laughs. "Of course, of course! Now, onto that new music album…"

**The End**

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**A/N: **I thought the Byakuya bit was a little off and rushed, but ohwell, I'm too lazy to change it. The dialogue is the important bit. And, as this little fic ends, I've finally tied it with the events and character development changes in the main fic that this is based on. I hope I haven't made you all wait too long, and thank you to the *FEW* (I am emphasising this for a reason, guys) who gave feedback. Granted, most of them were: "I thought this was an RukiHime fic" or some other thing, but I'm glad that I resolved that somehow.

The Learning Curve will be updated soon, and I will use elements from this chapter for the upcoming 16th chapter (which will hopefully be up in a few days/one week, max.).

And…that's all I have to say, really. See you guys later!


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